Ron Perlman has joined the cast ofTransformers: Rise of the Beasts. Per Collider, theHellboyactor has been tapped to provide the voice of Optimus Primal in the upcoming live-actionTransformersmovie. Perlman is reprising the role from the animated seriesTransformers: Power of the Primes, though the role was originally voiced by Garry Chalk in the originalBeast Wars: Transformersanimated series.
The title of the movie was just recently revealed. The next installment of the long-runningTransformers franchisewill focus on the Beast Wars by bringing the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons into the battle on Earth between the Autobots and Decepticons. Darnell Matayer and Josh Peters wrote the script based on a story by Joby Harold and Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) is directing.
“We had somewhat exhausted, I would say, thebattle between Decepticons and Autobots,” Caple said of the new movie’s creative direction, per ComicBook.com. “You’re going to see villains you’ve never seen before, you’re going to see Autobots you’ve never seen before, you’re going to see a lot of elements that we’ve never done before.”
The director went on to add: “We wanted to expand the universe, you have the Autobots and the Decepticons, and I would say my new flair to this is the Terracons. The Terracons are a new threat toOptimus Prime, and it’s something I pride myself on when entering the franchise. I’ve doneRockywithCreed, and you bring the nostalgia that fans want, but also bring something they aren’t expecting, and the Terracons are that.”
Michael Bay is producing the project under his Bay Films banner alongside Tom DeSanto and Don Murphy, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Duncan Henderson. Steven Spielberg will executive produce with Hasbro’s Brian Goldner; Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger; and New Republic Pictures' Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer, and Valerii An.
Voiced byRon Perlman, Optimus Primal is the leader of the beast-likeMaximalswith the ability of transforming himself into a gargantuan gorilla. Other characters that will be introduced in the movie include the falcon-like Airazor and the rhino-like Rhinox. ClassicTransformerscharacters like Mirage and Arcee will also return.
Leading the cast ofTransformers: Rise of the Beastsare Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah), and Lauren Velez (Dexter). Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has also confirmed that longtime voice actor Peter Cullen will return to the voice of Optimus Prime.
“Peter Cullen brought this character to life with his amazing voice back in 1984,” the producer said last week at a press event. “Is he returning? Absolutely. There’s, there’s no discussion without him really, you know, unless he didn’t want it. That would be the only way he would not be in here.”
He added: “I know Optimus is near and dear to him. Steven and I are going to be talking soon about some of the stuff that he’s interested in bringing to the table and, and vice versa. And so, yeah, he’s on board.“Transformers: Rise of the Beastsis scheduled to be released on June 24, 2025. This news comes to us fromCollider.
